Currently there are few identification schemes available that can securely verify the identity of parties communicating over a communications network. For example, caller identification services are available through the phone company which identify a calling party on the receiving end, by way of providing the name of the calling party on a caller ID screen. This caller ID information, however, is associated with the phone line from which the call is made and not necessarily with the person who is making the phone call. In other words, if a first party initiates a call to a second party from a phone line registered to a third party, the second party will not be able to verify the identity of the first party based on the caller ID information of the third party.